Offscreen battle may mar Goa fest

A war has broken out between organisers of the India International Film Festival and officials of the Press Information Bureau in Goa...

A war has broken out between organisers of the India International Film Festival and officials of the Press Information Bureau in Goa, with both trying to dominate the show from the backseat. As a result, viewers may have to face problems due to lack of co-ordination, state Government officials said.

The organising committee set up by the Goa Government has demanded more power from the Film Festival Secretariat of the Centre. The festival will be held here from November 23 to December 3.

8220;Even though just two months remain for the Film Festival to begin, the signing of an MoU between the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Goa Government has been delayed,8221; said a senior official of the Entertainment Society of Goa ESG, the official organiser of the festival. State Government officials allege that bureaucrats in New Delhi sat on the draft of the MoU for a long time and sent it for approval only two days ago.

The MoU to be signed between the two parties will state the responsibilities to be handled by the state Government and the I038;B Secretary to avoid duplication and confusion. The points in the MoU were discussed between the state and Central Government officials at a meeting in Mumbai way back in July, officials said.

8220;We had suggested to the I038;B Ministry that registration of delegates should be handled by a special software, which is used for the Cannes Festival,8221; a well-placed official said. However, even before the ESG could acquire the software, the Delhi-based Film Festival Secretariat went ahead and began registration of delegates,8221; the ESG official said.

The ESG team, which visited Cannes recently, had witnessed a demo of the Datakal software solution. 8220;The facility would have allowed simultaneous and seamless bookings for Indian delegates in Delhi and other places while international delegates could have been registered from their home countries,8221; he said. The state Government had allowed ESG to purchase the software for Rs 22 lakh, which would have been given to the I038;B Ministry and the Directorate of Film Festivals free of cost.

ESG CEO Nandini Paliwal said: 8220;We are looking for more powers in organising the festival and going by the last three years8217; experience, this is necessary,8221; she said.

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Vishnu Wagh, member of the Governing Body of the ESG and a renowned poet, said it was the state Government which makes more than 90 per cent of the expenditure of the Festival. 8220;We require more powers for the organisation and some day we will have to organise our own International Film Festival,8221; he said.